


The Not-So-Lonely Parents

by RiseSunFlowerChild



Series: Children of Yokai Blood [2]
Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:53:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 11,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27165505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiseSunFlowerChild/pseuds/RiseSunFlowerChild
Summary: This is a continuation of The Single Parents! It takes place when Lou and Draxum are in Japan.
Relationships: Baron Draxum/Lou Jitsu (TMNT)
Series: Children of Yokai Blood [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982884
Kudos: 8





	1. Draxum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draxum and Stockman arrive in Japan!

I think that flight might have been the longest time that I stayed in a seat.   
As soon as I get off the plane, I make sure to stretch out my cramped legs.   
Although the seats did recline, it wasn’t very pleasant for me. My legs protest the most. 

Stockman seems more tired than anything. He keeps bumping into things. 

I can tell that he just wants to get to the hotel. I take it upon myself to navigate. After all, this isn’t the first time I’m here. 

After a couple of times of getting lost later, we eventually made it to the hotel. I barely even get a chance to look around because at this point, I’m pretty tired and my legs hurt. Apparently, I’m not as good a navigator as I thought I was.

Right after I assure my sons that the plane landed and that I’m safely at my hotel, I lie down in bed. 

I’m out cold as soon as my head hits the pillow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short first chapter, I know. They’ll become longer soon! 
> 
> Also, I don’t know much about Japan but I’m researching it. If you know about Japan and you want to give tips, feel free to!


	2. Lou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lou is on his way to Japan.

When the plane takes off, I can only think of two things.   
  
One thing is how Raph and Mikey are doing, of course. The second is how I’m going to greet my family when I get there.

They probably think I just left them for fame... 

I truly do love my family. I would never leave them just to become famous. It kind of hurts that they could possibly be thinking that but I completely understand why they would be. 

The other concern is my grandmother. How many days does she have left?   
Well, no matter how many, I am going to spend my days with her to the fullest.   
I feel the need to remind her of how much I do love her. 

I sigh. 

I just feel like every time I’m flying into or out of Japan, I’m stressing about something. Usually, it’s about family. 

“We’ll be okay,” Tang Shen tells me. 

I nod, smiling for my close friend. 

I hope she’s right. I’ve done a lot of things wrong in my past and I think there are going to be consequences for it. 

I try to distract myself.   
The window!   
  
We’re above a bunch of clouds now...

Most times, it’s not that cool but now, it looks beautiful. 

The sun peaks out at us from the clouds, creating this red, orange, yellow line across the top of the clouds. 

I’ve never seen anything like this before.   
Raph and Mikey would have loved this.   
Maybe I can tell them about it later. 

For now, I settle into my seat.   
  
This is going to be a very long flight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapters will be updated every Friday if I don’t have time to write them during the week! I hope you enjoy the story!


	3. Raph

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raph and Mikey’s first day at home while Lou is in Japan!

The first day without Pops is very quiet. The only sound seems to be the sound of puppies demanding attention from whoever is downstairs right now. 

I’m currently upstairs, constantly falling asleep and waking up again. 

I can hear Mikey playing with the puppies downstairs. 

Eventually, I give up on trying to sleep and I head downstairs to join him.   
I notice that it’s cooler than usual. 

“Good morning, Raph!” 

Mikey is wearing his sweater.   
He hugs me. 

“Good morning, Mikey. How did you sleep?” 

“Good,” Mikey answers, handing me a puppy. 

I’m glad that he isn’t too sad about pops not being here. We should be getting a call from him in a few hours. 

“Good morning, you two!” 

“Good morning, Mr. Todd!” 

I could tell that today was going to be a slow day. I’d woken up so late and besides, Todd is a cool person but he isn’t Pops. 

This morning, we go out for breakfast. Then we walk around the city for a little bit. 

While walking, I notice that I’m kind of on edge. It’s not big enough of a feeling that I don’t want to be outside, it’s just enough to where I’m bothered. 

I keep seeing things fly over my head or by my ears. Occasionally, I hear a quiet buzz. 

From the way Mikey swats at the air at times and stays close to me, I can tell that he feels it too. 

Once we turn the corner, my uneasiness slightly eases up.   
Mikey starts to run ahead of us to get to some flowers. The sun comes out from behind the clouds.   
I relax a bit. 

The moment I let myself calm down from my tense stance, the stressful feelings come back, this time more intense than ever. 

It’s in front of me! 

I look up. 

There’s a little bug that’s darting towards Mikey. 

A man walks in front of him right before the bug hits Mikey. 

The bug appears to sting the man. 

The bug falls to the ground.   
I watch as the man’s eyes widen.   
  
I quickly bring Mikey back to where Todd and I are standing.   
  
The man screams and falls to his knees. He grips his arm in pain. 

People gather around him, some taking out their phones. 

Todd quickly directs us away from the scene. 

“Is he going to be okay?” 

Mikey keeps trying to look back. I figure it’s not the best idea so I walk behind him.   
  


_‘Do not look back, Raphael,’_ A voice in my head tells me. 

I look straight forwards, pretending to not hear the commotion. 

However, I can’t stop thinking about how that bug was heading straight for Mikey. 

When we get home, I make sure that all the windows and doors are locked tightly so that not even the smallest of bugs can get in. 

I’ve never seen a bug like that before. 

For the rest of the day, I find myself wishing that Pops was here. He’d come up with some funny reason as to why that man reacted that way and my mind would wander away from the thought. 

I can’t wait to call Pops today. I have so much to say to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloween is literally tomorrow! I can’t wait, I’m going to cosplay Lou Jitsu for the whole day. 
> 
> Anyways, I’m excited for the next chapter! It’s going to be about Donnie and Leo.


	4. Donnie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donnie and Leo try to find out what this mysterious bug is.

I almost jump up from my chair. 

_What on Earth was that?!_

I whip around to see nothing.  
Maybe I really do need to get to sleep earlier tonight.

I know I sensed something. There really was something behind me. I know it. 

“Hey, Don? Did you feel that too?” 

As soon as my eyes meet those of my twin brother’s, I know that it wasn’t just a hallucination of mine. Leonardo had that sense as well. 

Leo seems to know that I experienced the same thing as him without me having to say it. 

Father would probably call it twin communication but to me, it’s just a thing that’s always been there. We never seemed to need words. 

The sudden urge to be around an adult overwhelms me. 

“Let’s go downstairs,” I say. 

Leo does not hesitate to come with me.

Dr. Huggin and Dr. Muninn are still downstairs. Their eyes are glued on the television.

I peak over at the bottom of the screen. 

**Man Stung By Mysterious Bug In Manhattan**

Leo and I make eye contact.

The feeling of dread finds its way into my chest but I push it back. 

I head into the kitchen to make myself a sandwich. Leo follows me. 

“Do you think that bug thing has something to do with us?” He hops up on the counter, grabbing a pear from a nearby basket. 

“How could it?” I ask. 

“Maybe they’re experiments or something. I don’t know.” 

That thought gets me thinking. 

Experiments... 

“What are you thinking?” I press on, wanting to know more. 

I place the bread on top of my now finished sandwich and I lift it off of the counter. 

“Well, what if they are science experiments and they were sent out into the world to figure out something,” Leo shrugs. 

I nod. 

“You know, that’s actually not a bad thought.” 

Leo nods. 

Before we can say anything else, a shout catches our attention. At first, I think it might be coming from the tv.

The doctors turn off the tv. 

Leo jumps off the counter and rushes over to the window. I follow him. 

Outside, there’s a woman on the ground. She appears to be having a seizure. 

Muninn is out the door before he even realizes what is happening. 

“We’re going to stay inside,” Huginn tells me. “I’m sure she’ll be okay.” 

Leo and I look at each other. 

I know what I have to do. I have to search my father’s lab for anything about a strange bug. 

If he caused this, I know he didn’t mean to harm anyone. I’m going to figure out what its purpose is so that I can fix it.

But first, I need a plan that will allow me to get into his lab. It’s always off limits. 

“She’s okay,” Muninn says. “She’s on her way to the hospital. 

I pull Leo to the side. 

“We have to get into dad’s lab. We need a plan.” 

He nods. We sneak upstairs. 

In our room, the brainstorming process begins. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always thought of Draxum as a secretive person. No one is allowed in his lab or his little office.


	5. Draxum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Draxum’s first morning in Japan!

Waking up to the sight of cherry blossoms outside my window sure takes me back.

I get out of bed, stretching my arms out. Then I check my phone. I’m surprised to have received a text from Donatello so late in the night. Well, late in the night for me. It probably wasn’t too late in the morning when he really sent it.   
  


_Father, Leo and I have a science experiment to do. Can we go in your lab??  
  
_

I brought almost all of my important papers with me. I don’t see any reason why not but I want to make sure they’re not up to something.   
  


_I don’t see a problem for now. What’s your project?_

  
Because of the time difference, I don’t expect an answer right away.   
  
I place my phone down, heading into the bathroom to freshen up. However, I stop short when a sudden feeling of dread washes over me. However, this doesn’t feel like the usual work stress. This is something different. 

You know what, I’m just going to see if Baxter is awake. 

I find Baxter passed out in his bed, snoring loudly. 

Welp. I can’t blame him. The flight was very long, especially to him since it’s his first time traveling to Japan. 

The feeling of dread still grows. Maybe I should check the news.

I’m heading over to pick up my phone when the urge to turn around becomes very strong. 

I whip around to see Baxter, he’s actually awake. I thought he was out cold just a second ago. 

He smiles down at his watch before turning to look at me. 

“We’ll head out soon. Give me a second,” He speed walks out of the hotel room, pressing his phone up to his ear. 

I can’t help but wonder why he needs to leave the hotel room to make his call but as a person who values privacy, I let the thought slip away. 

I should probably get all cleaned up so that when he gets back, he doesn’t have to wait for me. 

Determining that I don’t have any new messages that I have to worry about, I slip into the bathroom and pull the door shut behind me. 

It’s true that I’m still not used to the times but I want to get back to New York City as soon as possible. That means Baxter and I start our observations today. 

I hope we’ll be back soon. 

It could just be the difference in environment but these stressful feelings don’t seem to be going away anytime soon. 

I feel like there’s more to them.   
It’s something familiar.. I just don’t know what it is. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloween was very fun! My cosplay got lots of positive feedback! 
> 
> Stay tuned for Lou’s day in Japan!


	6. Lou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lou and Tang Shen arrive in Tokyo, their home.

My heart starts to beat faster as the Japan comes into view.

“It’s very beautiful from up here,” Tang Shen tells me. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty nice.” 

The plane lands. 

Tang Shen and I collect our bags like normal people. We leave the airport like any normal person would. 

Japan has very similar looks but it is also very different. 

When I was here before, everything seemed way less colorful, a lot less beautiful. 

Maybe it was Tokyo that changed but I’m starting to think that it’s me who changed.

The drive to my old house seems a lot shorter than it really is. Maybe I’m just in a daze. 

We arrive way too early. 

Stepping out of the car, I see my father standing in front of the house. He looks not at me, but straight forward. 

Tang Shen and I get our bags and approach the house. 

I can hear the car drive away behind me. 

I don’t make eye contact with my father. 

“Welcome back, Yoshi.” 

I can hear the disappointment in his voice. 

But it’s not me. He probably just wants me to be some ninja somewhere. That wouldn’t make me happy. I’m not being selfish, I’m living my own life...

Right? 

For some reason, I can’t convince myself of this. 

“She’s in her room,” He says dismissively, before walking away from us. 

He always has another place to be. Just like when I used to live here.

“We should get inside, Lou. It’s going to rain soon,” Tang Shen says softly. 

She’s right. 

We go inside. I immediately see a bunch of my childhood memories. 

All that time of trying to forget is proven useless.

My childhood bedroom is just as it was when I lived here. My posters of admired actors still stick the wall. Even that pencil that I stole is still here. 

“Do you want me to stay in here?” Tang Shen asks me. 

I consider it. Then I shake my head. 

“You should take the guest room.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes.” 

I set my suitcase on my bed and sit down beside it. 

My origami figures still stand. My old Japanese symbols stick out from my open notebook. It lies on my desk, just like I left it. 

I really did have a messy way of writing back then. 

I chuckle. 

“Yoshi?” 

My smile goes away.   
The reason that I’m in Japan is to see my grandma. 

I stand, taking a deep breath. I know that once I see her, my emotions are going to come spilling out. 

I make my way to her room. 

Opening the door, I see her sitting on her bed, smiling at me. 

“Welcome home, Yoshi.”

I smile. She means it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that I originally started to write this before I saw the finale! I know that we haven’t met Lou’s dad or grandma yet. I just wanted to be creative! And changing them would mess with the story a little.


	7. Leo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo and Donnie investigate the mysterious bug that’s been making appearances around NYC.

Today, school went by slow motion. Everyone was really boring today.   
I think the most interesting moment was when I almost tripped in the hallway. 

When I’m finally released from the gates of prison, I am about ready to race home and get into Dad’s office. 

Donnie stops me though. 

Oh, I forgot. We’re going to Senor Hueso’s restaurant today. 

As much as I love pizza and learning Spanish, I also love science! 

Wait, I worded that weirdly. 

I like science. Love is a strong word. 

Once we get to the restaurant, I plop myself down in a booth.

“Pepino, is everything alright?” 

Senor Hueso appears out of nowhere. 

“Yes, I just really want to work on this project that I have for science.” 

Donnie shoots me a warning glare. 

I feel the urge to tell him that I know it’s a secret but that would give it away. 

As it turns out, I’m saved from coming up with a fake project because a strange, shivering man comes into the restaurant. 

Something falls off of him. 

“I need help... Something stung me..” 

He almost falls over. Senor Hueso rushes to help him. He places him in the booth across from us. 

“Don’t move, Pepino,” He makes eye contact with both of us before rushing to the phone. 

I look at what the man dropped. It’s really small but it glows a little. 

I stand up. 

“Leo!” Donnie scolds. “He told us not to move!” 

“Just give me a second.” 

I inch towards the thing. 

When I kneel down to see it, it suddenly flinches, giving off a quiet buzz.   
I back away. 

The glow is now gone. 

I pick the thing up and bring it over to Donnie’s table.   
As soon as I place it on the table, I remember what it is.   
  


-Flashback- 

“What’s that, Dad?” I ask, reaching up to touch it. 

Dad shoos my hand away.

“You can’t touch this, Leonardo. It will hurt you.” 

“But how?” I let my basketball drop to the floor. “What if I’m extra careful?” 

“I’m afraid that still won’t work. I’m working with very dangerous objects.”

Dad lifts up the metal bug. He points to the sharp needle on the edge of it. 

“This could hurt you very badly. It could inject you with a very hurtful substance.” 

Donnie comes up next to me. 

“What is it called?” He asks. 

Dad inspects the bug. 

“I’m not entirely sure.” 

I think hard. 

It’s a bug-thing... it can give you the liquid that’s inside of it.. 

“An oozesquito!!! You can call it that!” 

Donnie glares at me but Dad smiles. 

“Oozesquito. Great thinking, Leonardo,” He says. “This will now be called The Oozesquito.” 

Donnie smiles and pats my shoulder. 

“Good job.” 

I feel proud. 

-End of Flashback-

It’s an Oozesquito! That’s what it is! 

Donnie looks at me with a surprised expression. He knows too. 

“I thought Dad only had one of these... and it was locked up in the cabinet..” 

“But then how did it get out?” I ask him. 

He puts on his thinking face. I put on mine. 

Senor Hueso comes back into the main area. Now is the perfect time for twin telepathy. 

‘PEPPERONI’ I think of that word as hard as I possibly can. 

Donnie makes eye contact with me. 

The word, ‘CHEESE’ is suddenly forced into my mind. 

Yes! I knew we could do it! 

An ambulance arrives outside. Two large men come in with a stretcher. 

They look at us. Their eyes bounce from Donnie to me and then back again. 

I look at Donnie. Then back to the men. 

‘That was weird. Do you think it’s because you look like Dad?’ 

Donnie shakes his head. 

‘It’s not that. It’s because we’re his children.’

‘How do you know?” 

‘Do you remember when we were three or four and Dad’s coworkers came over?’ 

‘Kind of.’

‘These are those coworkers.’ 

‘Oh. I remember! These two came over once before. This was long before Huginn and Muninn were here.’

‘Right. They were replaced-’

“Are you two okay? It’s over now. If you want to talk about anything, I’m here.” 

Senor Hueso takes away our concentration, causing us to lose the ability to talk. 

“We’ll be okay,” I place my arm around Donnie’s shoulders in an attempt to act casual. 

“Are you sure?” Senor Hueso asks, glancing between the two of us. 

“Yeah. We’re fine,” Donnie confirms. 

The truth is, even though we’ve figured out some things, I still want to find out more. I’m kind of really confused. 

As soon as we get home, I’m dragging Donnie to Dad’s office.   
Actually- judging by the look on his face, I won’t have to drag him. We’ll both be dragged to the office by our determination to figure out what the shell is going on here. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing about the twins!! I can’t wait to write about their investigation soon!


	8. Mikey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikey finds a mysterious, teleporting animal!

“Haha! You’re it, Raphie!” I taunt, tagging Raph and jumping high up into a tree. 

Raph immediately goes after Casey, who surprisingly manages to escape him. Raph then goes after April. He doesn’t get her but his hand is really close to her.

April climbs up the tree that’s next to me. 

Casey continues to run and she’s really good at it, until she gets tired and Raph catches her. She’s now it. 

Raph gets on top of the jungle gym. 

“Very funny,” Casey says sourly. 

We all laugh. 

“You know you guys can’t stay there for long! Eventually you’ll get tired and you’ll have to come down!” She shouts, waving her arms around in the air. 

“Nope!” I reply, swinging my legs. “I could stay up here forever!” 

“Of course you can! I’m talking about you!” She points at April. 

She’s not sitting on the branch like I am. She’s hanging off of a higher branch. 

“Oh shoot, you’re right!” 

I see her fingers starting to come off of the branch. She drops down. 

“Run, April! Run!!” I shout. 

She runs but it’s not fast enough to get away from Casey. 

She tags her but while Casey is celebrating her victory, April tags her back. They get into a tagging war and Raph has to break it up. 

I’m hopping down to help, when I hear a quiet meow. 

At first I think it’s Ice Cream Kitty but I left her on my bed before school. 

I look around. 

There’s another meow. 

I try to get off of the branch but my sweater is caught on it. 

“Um, guys?” 

Raph is too busy breaking up April and Casey’s fight. 

I try yanking my sweater off of whatever it’s caught on. It doesn’t work. 

I yank myself harder. My other starts to fall off of the branch. 

“Whoa!” I cry as I start to fall. My sweater is ripped. 

“No!!!” 

Something hits me. 

I wait for the impact. 

When I don’t feel it, I open my eyes. I see the sky. 

There’s a small yellow paw on my hand. 

A blue and yellow cat-dog stares at me. It meows. 

I’m on the ground but I’m not hurt... I didn’t even feel myself land! Wait... 

My sweater hangs off of the tree branch... except I’m not underneath the tree branch. I’m like ten feet away from it! 

The cat-dog-thing meows at me again. Then it hops into my lap. 

In less than a second, we’re on the playground. 

.....

IT TELEPORTS?!?!?!

“Mikey!” April is running towards me. Raph does the same, holding my torn sweater.

“What happened?!” Raph asks me. 

“Okay, guys. You’ll never believe this but,” I hold the cat-dog up in front of me. “This cat-dog-thing can teleport!” 

Casey facepalms. 

“Your imagination is too big,” She sighs. 

“Mikey, this is serious. You can’t scare us like that. We thought you were in trouble!” Raph scolds. 

“You can’t scream like that,” April adds. 

“I screamed like that because I really was in danger! It saved me though!” 

I hand the animal to April. It licks her face. 

“Aww, this thing is pretty cute. But that does not let you off the-”

The next thing I know, April is gone! It’s like she disappeared into thin air! 

Raph and Casey make eye contact. Then they both look at me.   
  
“Where did she go??” Casey asks me. 

“I don’t know!” I answer. 

“Hey guys! Up here!” April calls down to us. 

We all turn to see April sitting on top of a slide. The cat-dog is laying in her lap, purring. 

“This thing is awesome! Can I keep it?”

“I guess so,” I shrug. “You have to let us visit it though!” 

She comes down the slide. 

“Of course, you can visit anytime. Mayhem and I will always be welcome to visitors!” She smiles, holding Mayhem beside her face. 

“Mayhem?” Casey asks. “That’s what you’re going to name it?” 

“Yes! This creature caused mayhem for us. It’s a fitting name,” April explains.

“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you at first,” Raph apologizes. 

“It’s fine. I wouldn’t trust me sometimes!” I hug Raph. 

“We should probably go home. I don’t know about you but I have a lot of homework to do. Also we probably want to get home in time for Pops’s call! Maybe Todd can fix your sweater!” 

I gasp. He’s right! I forgot all about my homework! 

“We’re going to head home,” Raph announces. “Bye guys!” 

“Bye Casey! Take good care of Mayhem, April!” I call. 

As we reach Todd, an ambulance drives past us, blaring it’s alarms. It must scare April and Casey because the next thing I know, they’re gone. I see April appear in the window of her room. Casey appears next to her. Ohhh, that’s smart! They used Mayhem! 

We wave at them, then we get into Todd’s car. He drives us home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mayhem is so cute!!! I couldn’t not include him! Especially since he’s important to the story!


	9. Draxum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draxum and Stockman investigate the ruins of a lab and make an interesting discovery.

The ruins are still pretty large. It’s almost as if someone wanted to build a castle and use it as a lab. 

“This is where the experiments take place?” I ask Baxter. 

It’s a dumb question, I’m sure. It’s just that I feel this strange aura. 

“Yes. Locals have complaints of flashing lights and loud noises taking place late at night,” Baxter inspects a messed up keypad. 

I suppose this would have been used when there was actually a large, bulky door that needed to be unlocked. 

“Let’s head in,” Baxter suggests, walking through the broken walls. 

I underestimate the distance which causes me to hit my arm against one of the jagged edges. 

Usually this wouldn’t be a problem. The only reason why it is now is because this is the arm that I had injured in battle. 

My blood pools onto the bandage. Crap! I gotta fix this-! 

“Are you okay?” Baxter asks. 

From the sound of his voice, I can conclude that he’s somewhere far in front of me. 

“I’m fine! Just go on ahead of me, I have to take care of some business,” I call out to him. 

“Alright. Call for me if you need anything.” 

“Will do.” 

With the distraction of Baxter now gone, I can focus on my- oh no.. 

The blood drips down my arm. 

I work quickly, applying pressure to the wound. With time, the blood stops flowing. 

I reach into my bag to find some extra bandage that I packed. 

I wrap my arm quickly, use a few tissues to wipe off the blood and there! 

Well done, Baron Draxum. 

I mourn the loss of a few stray drops of blood before throwing my bag onto my good shoulder. 

Not knowing where Baxter is, I decide to explore on my own until I find him. 

Watching out for stray pieces of metal that lay on the floor, I look up to see whatever pieces of ceiling are left intact. 

The architecture is very familiar, yet I can’t seem to place my finger on what’s so familiar about them. I decide to leave it alone for now. 

Since a lot of the walls are destroyed, it’s hard to decipher what the layout of the building was. I find myself at various points in the building, wondering if this used to be a room is some sort. 

However, one part of this building catches my interest. 

It’s a part that is almost completely intact, well, save for the broken walls and the crumbling structures. 

The part features a somewhat long hallway that leads up to a small door. On the other side of the door is a small room. Of course, the objects that used to be inside are scattered ashes and-I guess you can’t really call it a room because the whole back wall is nonexistent. There’s no roof as well. Apparently, the fire caused an explosion that blew the roof right off most of the building.

I know that this was used as a lab but god.. that explosion must have been deadly. What were they keeping in here? 

“Draxum?” 

Baxter calls out to me from across the building. 

“I’m in here,” I respond. 

“Okay. I think you’re going to want to see this.” 

I find my way into the room that he’s in. 

Before I can ask what’s wrong, I see it.   
  
This. What? 

It’s a large robot.. tall with dark hair. I could remember its looks anywhere. How it survived the explosion escapes me. 

“That’s not even the weirdest part. Look,” Baxter opens a weird little stomachs compartment. 

A pink blob is present, unmoving. 

My heart sinks. 

“What is it?” Baxter asks. 

“I’m not sure.” 

It’s an Utrom. I thought that they left this world long ago. Maybe they came back... but what for? 

“We should get going,” I say. 

Baxter looks into my eyes. 

“I know that you’re hiding something from me.” 

I turn away and start to walk. 

I need to figure out why they’re back. And most importantly- what they want with humanity. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always preferred Utrom over Krang. I don’t know, it just sounded cooler to me.


	10. Lou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lou finally gets to talk to his sons!

I can already tell that my grandma is worse off than she was before I left. Even though her smile is equally bright, I know that she is in pain. It hurts me so much to know that I missed so many years with her.

“It’s best to live in the moment. Don’t worry about what you could have or should have done in the past. What matters is the present,” She smiles.

It’s painful.

“Well, I have two sons that would have loved it here. They’re being watched by a close friend of mine.”

“I’m sure you’re a great father.”

“I can only hope to be as great as you were.”

“Well, I’m sure that you’ll be greater than me someday. So tell me about your life. Did you become a great actor like you promised?”

I feel guilty thinking back to my days of movies.

“I was an actor. I wasn’t as famous as some people dream of being but I’m known.”

“Ah, I see. Well, your satisfaction is all that counts.”

She pushes my bangs over to the right, where they usually rest. I smile.

“Is your friend here?”

Tang Shen enters the room. She bows.

“Come over,” Grandma pats the bed.

Tang Shen kneels beside me.

“How have you been?” Grandma asks her.

“I’ve had my ups and downs.. I’m doing well though.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“How is your baby?”

Oh, right. Grandma doesn’t know about Miwa.

Tang Shen smiles, and it doesn’t seem like she’s faking it. 

“I figured that it wasn’t the best decision to raise her at the moment. I didn’t have much. So I gave her to an adoption center. I wanted her to have the best life that she could have and I didn’t feel like I could supply that for her.” 

She avoids Grandma’s eyes, as if she’s afraid to see her reaction. 

“That’s a respectable decision. I’m proud of you for thinking that way.” 

Tang Shen smiles. It’s a real one this time. I realize that this must be the first sign of approval from an adult that she’s gotten since her parents. Tang Shen was always like a sister to me- I just never knew is she really felt like part of our family. I hope she does now. 

My phone suddenly buzzes. 

It must be Todd.

I excuse myself to talk to my sons. I head into my childhood room. 

As soon as I answer, I get an earful of excited screaming. 

“Pops! We missed you so much!” I hear Raph yell. 

“So much happened since you left!” Mikey screeches. 

My ears are left ringing. 

“My sons, as happy as I am to hear from you two, could you please quiet down? My ears are getting old and sensitive.” 

“Ha! Pops is an old man,” Mikey ‘whispers’ to Raph. 

I roll my eyes and chuckle. It’s good to hear from them, even if they’re making fun of me. 

“Where are you, Dad?” Raph asks. 

“Well, I’m in my childhood room,” I begin. “In my father’s house in Japan.”

“What does it look like?” Mikey asks. 

“Well, it’s kind of small. My bed is next to the wall. There are some posters and my desk is across from me,” I explain. 

“Is Japan fun?” 

“Definitely. There are lots of things that you can do here.” 

“Can you send pictures? I want to draw them and then give it to you when you get back!” 

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” 

“Pops, you’ll never believe what happened!” Raph says. 

“What happened?” 

“Mikey found a teleporting cat at the park! And now April is taking care of it!” 

“No, Raph, it was a cat-dog! It was yellow and blue and so adorable!” 

... okay, wow. 

Mikey usually has a big imagination but he never usually gets Raph to play along with it. I’m kind of surprised. 

But hey, I love to hear about their adventures. 

“Did you guys name it?” 

“Yeah! April named it Mayhem because it caused us a lot of trouble at first!” Mikey answers. 

“Oh? And how did it do that?” 

“Well, I was going to fall from a tree because we were playing tag and before I fell, Mayhem got to me and teleported us to the ground! And then April and Casey and Raph didn’t know where I was so they got scared. It’s okay though because Mayhem teleported us back to where they were.” 

“Ah, so this Mayhem saved my son? I’m going to have to thank him when I get back,” I decide. 

“Yeah! You have to go to April’s house to see him though,” Mikey informs me. 

“Also, there are weird bugs coming out and hurting people!” Raph adds. 

“Whoa, weird bugs? What do you mean?” 

Concern washes over me. Even though I fully trust Todd, I would still like to be there if there’s a threat to my sons. 

“There are little bugs that sting people and make them freak out. It’s really weird. But before they come around, I get this weird feeling so I can bring my friends to safety!” Raph explains. 

“Hey, you’re not the only one! I get those feelings too!” Mikey protests. 

“Oh. Well you guys be careful, okay? Stay close to Todd when you guys go out. Don’t stray to far away from each other either.” 

“Yeah, we know, Pops,” Raph says, exasperated. 

“You know-!”

Barking blocks out my son’s voices. 

“Oh no!” I hear Mikey shout before something hits the ground. 

“Did he get out?” Raph asks. 

“No! Come on, we gotta fix this!” 

I’m about to ask about what’s happening when Raph speaks again. 

“Gotta go, Pops! We’ll talk again later!” Raph calls before ending the call. 

I’m left wondering what happened. It seemed like one of the puppies caused chaos. 

I laugh. 

My sons are crazy sometimes. They definitely get that from me. 

I look around my room again. 

Tang Shen knocks on the door, slowly pushing it. 

“Hey. Your grandma needs rest.” 

She sits beside me.   
This brings a thought. 

“Do you remember when you and Saki would always climb up that tree to knock on the outside of my room? It was your way of getting me to come outside.” 

“Yeah. We did that almost everyday.”   
  
“Yeah. Our parents always told us that we were wild children.” 

“Especially ours. My parents would tell me that climbing trees is not what a lady would do. Yours always told you that it wasn’t proper. Saki’s parents weren’t always strict.” 

“Yeah. I always wondered what they had against trees.” 

Tang Shen laughs. 

Then we fall into a comfortable silence. 

We just stare into space, reminiscing on the good times from when we were young. 

It’s nice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always imagined that Tang Shen and Lou Jitsu were best friends and as close as siblings.


	11. Raph

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raph and Mikey solve the puppy situation!

Mikey makes a dive for the puppy and he manages to catch it. 

“Close the door!” He screeches. 

I run fast and manage to swing the door shut. I lock it before the puppy can even jump down from the counter. When it does hop down, it goes to lick Mikey. 

I think that all is well until I hear the wobbling vase. 

“Raph!! The pie!” 

Before I can even move, the vase falls, trapping the tray beneath the pie. The tray shoots up and flings the pie out of it. The pie soars through the air. I’m frozen. 

It goes straight for Pops’s special teapot. 

I rush over but I’m not fast enough and it smears itself all over the teapot. It wobbles, then falls to the ground. 

There’s a loud cracking sound. 

Mikey’s eyes meet mine and we stare at one another, eyes wide, jaws down to the floor. 

Okay, okay, think Raph. You just destroyed Pops’s most favorite thing in this house. 

Wrong- the puppies did it. If one didn’t jump onto the counter and knock over Todd’s lemonade pitcher while trying to eat the pie, then none of this would have happened. If the other one didn’t get scared by the noise and try to run out of the house, then this wouldn’t have happened. 

But all of this could have been avoided if I had just closed the door to the backyard when we were called inside.

“Raph,” Mikey tugs on my shirt. “What are we supposed to do?” 

I listen closely. It’s faint, but I can still hear Todd snoring. I’m surprised he slept through all of that noise. 

“You put the dogs in another room. I’ll think of something.” 

While Mikey puts the dogs away, I decide to start cleaning the mess. 

I’m surprised that Todd’s lemonade pitcher is not broken. It was a pretty loud crash. 

I set the pitcher on the counter and take a napkin to clean the spilled lemonade. It’s a shame... Todd makes some good lemonade. Our dessert was going to be pie and lemonade. I guess we won’t have either tonight. 

Maybe we can have it tomorrow! 

I throw the used napkins in the trash. The vase will survive, as long as it’s washed. The tray has somewhat of a bent side due to the heavy vase but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. I place both objects in the sink. 

Okay, now is the hard part. 

The teapot and the pie. 

Mikey comes back. 

“So, what are we going to do?” He asks. 

In reality: I don’t know. 

I’m going to come up with an easy way to put this. 

“Our ally has been injured. We have to see what injuries he’s sustained,” I reach for the teapot. 

Imagination is the best way to get to Mikey. 

Slowly, I lift it up and bring it over to the sink, where I gently rinse it. 

Mikey comes over to watch. 

Surprisingly, it’s not as broken as I thought it was! I’m fact, it looks to be fully intact! I turn it. 

.... oh....

A big, jagged hole presents itself at the bottom of the teapot. 

Oh no..

“Omigosh.. what are we going to do??” 

“Easy, Mikey.” 

My eyes rapidly search to find an object that might fit in the hole. 

“Raph, this is Dad’s favorite teapot! If he finds out, he is going to hate us forever!” Mikey cries. 

The imaginative situation flies out of the window. 

“Hey, hey, we’ll figure this out! Don’t worry, we’re in this together! Dad will never hate us! He always loves us,” I hug Mikey. “Now, why don’t you carefully look for the missing piece? I’ll look for some glue or something else that might fit.” 

“What about Todd?” Mikey asks. 

“If Todd wakes up, I’ll tell him that we’re making a surprise for him. Do you still have that drawing of Todd and the puppies?” 

“Oh yeah! I do!” 

“We’ll use that if we have to. But be careful. The piece will be sharp.” 

“Yessir!” Mikey salutes. 

It makes me smile. 

I head up to my room. 

I need to be quick. 

One thing I need is glue. I can find that in my book bag. 

My hand searches through the supplies compartment of my bag... 

Wait- oh no! I think I gave my glue to Casey! 

My hand finds a circular object. I pull out a small tub of glue.   
  
Oh, I forgot I had this in here! I think this is from... third grade. It will have to do for now. 

Now, to search for an object. 

Mikey’s toys are mostly stuffed animals but if I’m remembering correctly, I had a few toys that had jagged edges. 

I search through my action figures. 

Oh, if only I still had my Atomic Lass figure... I gave it to Donnie earlier. 

Hm... I guess Jupiter Jim will have to do for now. 

When I get back downstairs, Mikey points at a couple of sharp pieces on the floor. 

“The piece shattered.” 

In that case, it’s a good thing I brought Jupiter Jim. 

I sweep the broken pieces away while Mikey washes the the teapot and puts glue on the edges.

I help him fit Jupiter Jim into the missing piece’s spot. Then we place it on top of the stove. 

“Good job, little bro!” I hold my hand out for a high five. 

He jumps up and high fives me. 

Then we plop down on the couch. 

Todd doesn’t even wake up until a few hours later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love the chaos that can happen when siblings are together!


	12. Donnie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo and Donnie make a discovery in the lab!

We’re upstairs before Huginn can even tell us to do our homework. 

Our book bags are left abandoned by the door and we’re in the office. Leo is careful to hold the Oozesquito that we found. 

Father most likely took his lab work with him. This would mean that he stored his old work away... wait, that’s not right. 

His old work was burned up. He should only have some of his old work. 

I look at a file cabinet.

Oh, and there’s the reason why I suddenly feel like we’re hurtling face first towards a problem. The file cabinet would not just be unlocked like that. Father would never leave important work lying around, waiting for someone to take it. 

Judging by the effects of getting stung by one of these bugs, they would fall under the ‘important’ file. 

I sit and ponder. 

Where in the world could that key be hidden? It’s obviously in a place that no one would think to look. 

“Um... Donnie?” 

The desk? No, it couldn’t be. That’s in plain sight. Anyone could see it. 

Besides, even if it was there, that compartment of the desk needs a key anyways. 

“Donnie?” 

Could it possibly be hidden in one of the books on the highest shelf? Someone might look there, but if it’s way then there’s a chance that it wouldn’t be found. 

“Donnie?” 

Leo rips me away from my thoughts by shoving a key in my face. My eyes widen. 

“Where did you find this?” I ask.

“It was on the door handle..” 

I take the key and try to open the cabinet. The key doesn’t fit. 

I think for a minute. 

Leo takes the key from me.   
He places the key into the lock for the desk. It connects, then turns. 

Huh. That’s strange. Father would never leave it there. 

I didn’t notice it until now. Leo found the key on the back of the door. I don’t think that he would forget doing something like that. He wouldn’t even do that in the first place. 

“Let’s search the desk,” Leo suggests. 

“Good idea.” 

After almost five minutes of sifting through irrelevant papers, I find one that looks pretty important.

It has nothing to do with Oozesquitos but it does have our names on it. 

The paper looks to be pretty old and crumpled up. It’s folded in half, with our names on the front. It doesn’t appear to be in Father’s handwriting either. 

I unfold the paper. It has an address. 

“What is it?” Leo peeks at the address. 

“I’m not sure. I do know where this is though.” 

“Cool. Let’s go there tomorrow.” 

“Okay...,” I flip over the paper. “But wait.. there’s more.” 

The sudden sound of feet climbing up the stairs causes Leo and I to scramble around Father’s office. I quietly shut the cabinet and Leo hides the key in his pocket. 

Muninn comes up to check on us, and to announce that he’s making dinner. 

Once he’s gone, Leo comes right back to my side. 

“What more is there?” He asks me, as if the suspense is killing him. 

“Raphael and Michelangelo’s names are on this too,” I flip it over so that he can see. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter that focuses on the boys will be very interesting!


	13. Draxum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draxum meets up with Lou in Japan!

Awakening with a roaring headache is the perfect way to start my next day of investigations. Baxter tells me that I can stay behind if the pain is too bad, but I refuse. If the Krang are up to something, then it’s up to me to stop it. 

Today, we set out early. 

We find a little lab that’s not very.. out of site from the city of Tokyo. The building is very small, very old and broken. 

Exploring it was worse than anything I had ever done. 

There wasn’t much left to explore, and Baxter and I didn’t make many discoveries. It was almost as if whoever was there before us planned on destroying any evidence. 

Isn’t that just great? 

We head back to the hotel through the city. At first, all I see are large crowds of people that I have to avoid. I had a bad day and this crowd is not helping my mood. 

At one point, it seemed like nothing could help my day. 

But that’s when my eyes fell upon a very familiar person. 

His dark brown eyes study the various objects and people around him. He seems to be in some sort of a trance. His legs move but his eyes wander, paying little mind to where he places his foot- or anywhere directly in front of him for that matter. 

The frustration builds inside of me as he seems to look everywhere but at me. 

However, when he finally sees me, his eyes light up and he waves. 

I stop walking. My brain can only comprehend how nice it is to see such a familiar face. 

He reaches me quickly. 

“Draxum! I didn’t know that you were going to be here too!” 

Lou Jitsu smiles, the very movement of his lips enough to blow away the clouds that hover over my mood. 

“I did not know that you were going to be in Japan either,” I respond truthfully. 

My mind has been filled with work often. I don’t really have room to think of anything else. 

“Well, here I am! And there you are! Oh! Why are you here, if you don’t mind me asking?” He asks, his eyes focusing on mine. 

“I am here for my job. There are a few things that I wish to look further into. It’s only Baxter and I.” 

“Ah, I see! Well, in that case, I should probably let you get back to your work,” He smiles. 

“Oh no, it’s fine. We were actually just finishing up our investigation,” I say. “What are you here for?”   
  
It doesn’t occur to me that Baxter is not next to me anymore. 

“Oh.. I’m here to see my grandmother for one last time,” His smile disappears a little. 

Oh shoot. I’ve gone and messed everything up. 

“Oh. I’m so sorry about this.” 

“It’s fine,” He shakes it off. “I’ve prepared myself as best as I can. Besides, there’s not much that you can do about it.” 

He looks off to the left for a minute. I stay silent to give him a minute to himself. 

When he turns back, he’s completely serious. 

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” 

“Go ahead,” I nod. 

“Have you been feeling strange lately? Have you had a feeling of anxiousness?” 

A strange feeling grows in my chest as I think back to my first day here. 

“Yes. Yes, I have,” I say. 

“Really?” Lou’s eyes widen. “My boys told me that they have the same feeling! They have also talked about dangerous bugs?”

Dangerous bugs? 

My brain warns me. 

“What type of dangerous bugs?” 

“Well, I’ve read up on it. Apparently, if it stings a person, it injects something into their blood stream. They start to freak out. I don’t think they know what the liquid is yet.” 

My heart pounds in my chest. 

“This liquid... is it green?” 

I hope to god that the answer isn’t yes. 

“I believe so.” 

I need to tell Baxter. 

Of course, I’m making an assumption, but if it is what I think it is, then it’s a problem that Baxter and I have to fix it. 

“Lou, it was great catching up with you, but I’m afraid something has come up. Maybe we will meet again in Japan sometime soon,” I say as calmly as I can. 

“I could say the same! May our paths cross again!” He smiles his perfect sunshine smile.

I have to remind myself that there is no time to bask in the warmth that it gives me. 

I simply smile back before rushing into the crowd of people, desperately trying to get back to my hotel as quickly as possible. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is the second part of Baron Draxum’s chapter!


	14. Draxum- Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draxum discovers that his partner has been deceiving him.

I am out of breath by the time I get to our hotel room. Pressing my ear up against the door, I can hear Baxter laughing. 

Thank god he’s here. I don’t know what I would have done if he weren’t. 

I push open the door. 

“Baxter! We have a problem!” I call. 

Baxter slowly turns around. 

His eyes are crazed. His smile is psychotic. 

My eyes widen. 

“Good lord, Stockman.. what have you done..?”

He holds the Oozesquito in his hand. 

“I’m so sorry it had to be this way, Draxum,” He giggles, his face twitching. 

I watch as the green liquid slowly disappears into his arm. 

“You’re insane!” I gasp. “Why would you throw away your humanity like this?? Why would you allow others to be stripped of their humanity?”

“It will all be worth it once I become the greatest scientist on Earth- just as Master Shredder promised.” 

I am confused. I am lost. I have been betrayed. 

“He lied to you! I know about the Shredder! I grew up learning about him! He will deceive you!” 

The pain in my heart grows. The Shredder has managed to trick an associate of mine. Now Baxter will become a slave of the Shredder and I can do nothing to prevent this. 

... It’s almost like my inability to save my own mentor... 

“He will not deceive me. I have the anti-mutagen! With this, I will cure all who were affected by it and come out as the best scientist who ever walked this Earth!” He cackles. 

I can only watch as Baxter’s form begins to change shape. 

The man sprouts wings. His eyes grow big and wide, like that of a bug’s. 

I look away. 

I hear the Oozesquito fall to the ground. 

The sound of Baxter’s laughter becomes ingrained in my mind. That is.. until it becomes fainter and fainter. 

Soon, it’s silent. 

I look up again. The window is shattered. Baxter must have flown away. 

I slowly rise to my feet. A sudden dizziness seizes me where I stand. 

.. I.. I have to warn my sons.. 

... Lou..

My legs give out. I snatch my phone from my pocket. 

My fingers don’t work. They shake too much. I take a few deep breaths. I turn on my location. 

Thoughts race through my head. My hands tremble even more this time. 

I can only manage to send two words before my body goes stiff. 

My world fades into darkness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baxter has finally become the bad guy that we know and love! As much as I hate to see him turn evil, he is, after all an antagonist! 
> 
> Stay tuned for Lou’s chapter!


	15. Lou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lou arrives at the hotel to help Draxum!

I have never taken a moment to appreciate how beautiful Tokyo looks at night.

When I was younger, my father always had me inside well before darkness.

The only time I ever really saw it was the time that Tang Shen and I ran away. Granted, we were in a rush so we didn’t have much time then.

Now, Tokyo’s dark skies fall upon my patient figure. However, it doesn’t darken my mood.

The lights are enthusiastic as they light up the sidewalks. People talk and laugh.

Some Japanese City Pop would really go well with the scene. 

My phone buzzes. 

**_Drax_** _has shared his location with you_

_**Drax  
** _ _Come here_

This type of texting seems unusual for Draxum. It isn’t well thought out, or properly written. 

I take a look at his location. 

He is at a hotel that isn’t too far from where I am in Tokyo. I guess I can go. I just have to be back in time for family dinner. 

I start to walk. 

-

The hotel is pretty big. The location does not tell me his room number. This could be a problem. 

_Which room are you in??_

After five minutes with no response, I take a step back to look at the building. Maybe he left something in the window for me to see? 

Hmm... well I can’t find anything that looks like it could be his... wait, one of the windows are broken! 

Stray pieces of glass crunch under my shoes. 

I look up at the window. I count the rooms up and across from it. Then I rush into the elevator. 

-

“Draxum??” I call out. 

My heart sinks when I see him lying on the floor. 

The hotel room is a mess. The jagged pieces of glass from the window are still breaking off.   
  
Draxum’s phone lies dead in his hand. 

“Draxum!” I kneel down, gently shaking him. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” 

He stirs slightly, squeezing his eyes before opening them. 

“Lou?” He asks. 

I look down at him. His eyes look so tired, so stressed out. 

“Are you okay? What happened? Where is Baxter?” 

His eyes widen at the sound of Baxter’s name. 

“We need to go. Now,” He stands up. “We need to go back home and get our sons. Lou, contact your sons and I’ll contact-!” 

He trips over his feet and stumbles around. I am immediately by his side, helping him balance. I bring him over to the couch. 

“You can’t stay here,” I tell him. “I am going to bring you home. You aren’t safe.” 

He cradles his head in his hands. 

If I am going to help him, I am going to need reinforcements. 

I call Tang Shen. 

-

We help Draxum into my bed, the comfiest bed in the house besides my grandmother’s. 

Draxum tries to get up but we push him back down. 

“You can’t get up. You have to rest,” I repeat myself for the tenth time. “Draxum, it’s okay.” 

“But it isn’t! Baxter is out there. The Oozesquitos are out there, terrorizing New York City. And most importantly, the Shredder is out there,” Draxum puts his hand on top of mine. “The fate of the New York City is in our hands.” 

“What?” I laugh nervously. “I’m so confused with you.” 

Draxum sighs. 

Tang Shen’s phone buzzes. Mine does too. 

She looks at hers first. Then she frowns. 

I look at mine. 

Saki stands at the top of a tall skyscraper. Many Foot ninjas are behind him. He wears the armor of the Hamato Clan’s greatest nightmare. He holds a big canister of green, glowing liquid. 

_It is not too late to join me._

Tang Shen and I exchange glances. 

I hear Draxum take a deep breath. Then he starts to speak. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for Draxum’s backstory!


	16. Lou- Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draxum tells his backstory ; Lou finds his determination to defeat the Shredder.

“I was born in a very unfortunate situation,” He begins, staring down at his hands. 

“My parents, for whatever reason, left me in the middle of the forest when I was very young. I never knew who they were.” 

His eyes connect with mine. 

“A man named Nagi found me and took me in. He was a kind and respectable man. He worked with the Utrom.” 

He looks back down at his hands. 

“The Utrom are an alien race who love to experiment. So they conducted experiments on me,” His voice lowers. “I was not born a Yokai. I always assume my human looks.” 

His body starts to change.

His dark skin lightens into that of a purple pigment. His long dreadlocks unravel into straight hair. 

“This is what the Utrom turned me into.” 

He tightens his fists. 

I place my hand on top of his. He calms down a little bit. He raises his eyes to meet mine again. 

“Nagi wanted me to be big and strong, with intelligence coming in as a close second. In his eyes, my main goal was to become the ultimate warrior.” 

His skin darkens and his hair is re-twists itself. 

“However, my smarts far outmatched my strength. Nagi kept pushing me and pushing me until my strength was equal to my intelligence. For that, I am eternally grateful.” 

His eyes move to the wall. 

“The Shredder attacked us when I was twelve. Much of the Utrom were slain. Nagi and I were lucky to escape with our lives. Unfortunately, we were forced to lay low in the forest. The Foot Clan quickly became our enemies as they hunted us down constantly. 

“Eventually, Nagi became tired. Too tired. The Shredder changed my life that day. He killed Nagi right in front of me. I managed to escape.

“I mourned the loss of my mentor. Though I was much too tired to plot my revenge just yet. I was only nineteen at the time, terrified, alone and weak.” 

Draxum’s eyes look lost as he recalls what he went through. 

“I managed to pick up a job and raise enough money to go to America, where I put my intelligence to good use.” 

Draxum’s eyes come back to us. He turns to me and looks at Tang Shen and I with determination. 

“From the day Nagi died, I vowed that I would not let Shredder, the Utrom, or their powers ruin anyone’s life like they did mine. This is why defeating them is such an urgent matter for me. Especially when they are in the same city as my sons. I have already failed Baxter Stockman but I can not give up.” 

His eyes are desperate. 

“I need to defeat him but I can not do it alone. I need you to help me. Please.” 

Tang Shen and I make eye contact. Then we nod. 

“We will all defeat the Shredder. We will do it together,” I say. 

The thought of leaving my grandmother rips my heart right out of my chest. I don’t want to leave her again. But I know that the Shredder is a huge threat to the people of this world. My friends, my family, my sons. I need to be there to defeat him when he rises. 

Tang Shen already has our plane tickets by the time that I have enough courage to speak to my grandmother. 

I call out to her, gently pushing open the door. 

Her eyes meet mine and they immediately become serious. 

“Hamato Yoshi. You need to go,” She tells me. 

“Yes, I know. I am sorry,” I bow. 

“Come here, Yoshi,” She weakly holds her hand out to me. 

I kneel down beside her. 

“My grandson. My brave grandson,” She pushes a few hairs out of my eyes. “You need to go. You have to stop your friend from becoming consumed by the rage of the Shredder.”   
  
“I know, grandmother. It’s just.. I don’t want to leave you.” 

The tightening forms in my throat. 

“Leave me?” 

My grandmother gently lifts my chin so that I look at her. 

“You will never leave me. I will always be with you,” She places her hand over my heart. I put my hand over hers. “You can never leave your family. We will always be here.” 

She smiles at me. 

“Now, Yoshi. You need to get going.” 

I hold her hand tight, afraid that if I let go, I will never hold her again. 

She lets me stay as long as I need to. 

When I let her go, my eyes are wet. 

“Do not look for me with your eyes. Instead, find me with your heart.” 

I nod. 

“I love you, grandmother.” 

“I love you too, Yoshi.” 

She leans back to rest. I rise to my feet. Taking one last look at her smiling face, I leave the room, quietly closing the door behind me. 

With the scars of my sadness still glistening on my cheeks, I enter my old room. 

Draxum is already standing. His face softens when he sees me.

Tang Shen places her hand on my shoulder.

“I’m ready,” I start. “I’m ready to put an end to the Shredder, once and for all.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, yess! I can’t wait to write the final battle! 
> 
> In the next chapter, the boys will visit the address!!


	17. Raph

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donnie, Raph, Leo and Mikey go to the mysterious address. There, they find strange, glowing objects!

Today, after school, Leo and Donnie invited us to Senor Hueso’s restaurant. After much begging, Todd finally caved in and let us go. He said that he will come get us by 5 PM.

I am excited... that is, until Leo and Donnie walk right past the restaurant.

“Yoo-hoo! Guys! You passed the restaurant!” Mikey calls.

Leo turns around and brings his fingers up to his lips.

Donnie motions for us to follow them. 

Mikey and I exchange glances then shrug, walking along. 

“So where are we really going?” I ask Donnie. 

“I don’t know. I just know that it’s near here,” He answers. 

This gets me kind of stressed. 

It is near here, but anyone can be there at anytime. Does he know who might be there? 

What if bad people are there? 

Donnie and Leo stop in front of an abandoned building. It seems to have been abandoned for a while now. 

“This is the place,” Donnie checks the address. 

“So... why are we here?” Mikey asks, looking up at the top of the building. 

“Father had this in his desk. It has an address and both of our names. I don’t know what it means but I thought we should check it out,” Donnie seems to be in a daze. 

“Let’s go,” Leo says.

We go in. 

I am tense and ready to grab Mikey, Donnie and Leo and run if there is danger. 

I think I can handle all of their weight combined. I hope I can. I hope I don’t have to. 

“What is that?” 

Mikey points at an big box structure that slightly resembles an elevator, although there is only one big green button. 

Before I can stop him, Mikey hops into the box. He presses the green button.

“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!” Leo flies in beside him. 

Neither Donnie nor I can join them in time. 

The box goes below ground. 

Donnie and I only stare at each other. 

Where just happened? 

If that box doesn’t come back up, I am going to have to go home and tell Todd why my brother is lost forever. Donnie is going to have to tell his dad why he doesn’t have a twin anymore! 

Donnie goes to where the box once was. 

“It’s coming back up,” He says. 

I calm down.   
I do still have a brother. Unless something terrible happened down there.. 

Donnie and I squeeze into the box. 

As it descends, I can’t help but feel that it’s getting colder. Not cold to the point of needing a jacket but cool. 

The box stops moving. 

The place looks old and dark at first. Then I see Mikey from his bright orange sweater. 

Thank god for that.

I rush over to Mikey and turn him around, pulling him into a hug. 

“Don’t you ever do that again!” 

“I’m sorry but look!” He says, pulling back and pointing at something. 

I look in the direction that he’s pointing. 

Something on the far wall has a very faint glow. I can’t see what it is.

“Should we walk towards it?” 

Leo suddenly appears out of the darkness. I swear that his sweater was a darker blue than it is now. 

“If we’re going to do it, we should do it now. We don’t have a lot of time before Senor Hueso gets suspicious,” Donnie looks down at his glowing watch. 

We each exchange glances with one another. Then we turn to the glow and start to approach it. 

The glow seems to become brighter. 

When we get to the wall, the whole place has brightened up. The walls are purple and majestic, almost resembling crystals. That can’t be it though. 

Two objects glow in red. I suddenly have the overwhelming urge to touch them. 

I reach up and take them down from the board. I feel a small wave of energy flow through my body but nothing more than that. 

I turn to the others, who’s eyes are wide with surprise as they stare at me. 

“Guys?” I ask. 

“Raph,” Mikey starts. He reaches out. “You’re glowing..!” 

Impossible! I bring my hand up to my eyes-

I gasp. 

My skin.. my skin is surrounded by a strange red glow. It’s almost as if I have a red shadow! 

I smile at my friends. 

“This is awesome!” I shout, my voice echoing off of the crystal walls. 

The others scramble to the board, looking for their special object. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leo is the next one to find his mystical object!


	18. Leo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo chooses the Odachi!

Raph is glowing red. I think I want to glow too! I make sure that I am the first one at the board so that I can choose the next weapon. 

The first thing I see is a glowing blue sword. 

I grab it. 

Nothing.

Donnie and Mikey watch me carefully. 

Nothing... 

Why am I not glowing?

“Hmm... maybe if I-..!”

I swing the sword around randomly, trying to figure out how to activate it. 

I move my sword into a circle three times. 

“Whoa!” Mikey shouts. 

In front of me is a blue circle. 

“What does this do?” I ask, walking through it. 

Suddenly, I am at the top of the room, suspended in the air. 

I start to fall. 

In my panic, I try to create another portal beneath me but it doesn’t work. My fingers are too frantic with the sword. 

I brace myself for a rough impact. 

However, I feel something that definitely isn’t the ground. 

There’s a red aura all around me. 

“Raph?” I call out. 

He is way bigger than he was before! He’s like four times his actual size!! 

He gently puts me down and shrinks back to his normal size. 

“Wow, thanks for the save! That was pretty cool! How did you do that?” I inspect his hands. 

“I have no idea,” He responds, looking equally as confused as I am while he looks at his arms. 

Mikey dances over to us, clapping.

“You guys are so cool! That was awesome! I want to see what I can do!” 

He skips to the board, looking at each of the weapons carefully. 

Then he picks the orange one. 


	19. Mikey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikey chooses the nunchaku!

This orange one looks pretty cool! It’s got a long chain with a little orange guy on the end! 

I pick it up. 

“What does this do?” I wonder.   
I shake it around a couple of times. 

It starts to move almost immediately, pulling me all around the room. 

“Whoa!” I scream, terrified at first. 

But then it starts to become more controlled. It still pulls me around at a fast speed but not in a way that makes me feel like I’m going to suddenly smack into a wall. It’s almost like a roller coaster! 

I whoop and cheer as it guides me around. I can feel my ponytail loosening. 

Eventually, Raph’s giant hand reaches up through one of Leo’s portals to bring me down. 

I’m surprised that he could catch me! 

He holds me close to him. The weapon in my hands is now so long that it touches the floor. I guess it stretched while it was pulling me! 

The band in my hair snaps and my hair pops out in all directions, acting like rays and making my face look like the sun. 

“Woohoo!!” I cheer, throwing my hands up and kicking my legs out. “I want to do that again!” 

“Let’s not do that again today,” Raph suggests, patting my back. 

“Okay, fine.” 

I let my smile drop for a second. Then I notice that Donnie hasn’t chosen a weapon yet. 

“It’s your turn, Donnie!” 

He studies the last object on the board. He reaches out to it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter of Part two will be from Donnie’s perspective and it will come out next Friday!


	20. Donnie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donnie chooses the Bō staff!

A large purple staff stares at me. 

My hands shake as I reach for it.   
  
As soon as my fingers close around the staff, an overwhelming wave of courage courses through my body. 

Ideas of how I can combine this with some of my inventions flood through my brain. I squeeze the staff. 

It opens and reveals a glowing green bat.

What can I do with this?

“What happened?” Leo asks.

I guess the powers can’t be seen by others.

My watch beeps, causing all four of us to jump. 

My brain comes back to reality.

“We have to go!” 

I can hear voices coming from somewhere in the dark.

Raph’s older brother instinct kicks in. He scoops all of us up, throwing Leo on his back and makes a mad dash for the elevator box.

Almost as soon as Leo’s backpack gets inside the box, it starts to move upwards. 

We hop out before the box is fully level with the ground. 

Our minds are focused on escaping the voices, rather than returning the magical weapons. 

We stop in some random alleyway so that Raph and Mikey can shove their weapons into their bags. 

It takes Leo thirty times to get up a portal that actually leads to our house.   
When he finally does, we toss our weapons into our room and walk back out of the alleyway like nothing happened. 

Senor Hueso is strict with us, but he believes Leo’s lie of getting distracted by a bird that had a pizza in his mouth. 

As we sit down at a table together, making eye contact with one another, I can’t help but wonder what finding those weapons could have meant. 

Obviously, we had to find those weapons. Our names were on the paper. Why? 

Could there possibly be a threat bigger than the Oozesquito? 

Leo shoves a slice of pizza in my face. 

“Relax, bro! You have got to stop thinking so much!” He says. 

“Yeah!” Mikey agrees. “Your head might explode if you think too hard!” 

“Okay, okay,” I laugh, taking the slice. 

If there is a bigger threat, I’m sure the four of us will handle it just fine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second part of The Children Of Yokai Blood story! I’ll see you soon in the third part! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
